Computers/Information Technology

Mathmeticians of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/RBallHist.html

Author:

David Wilkins, Trinity College, Dublin

Excerpt:

Available here are accounts of the lives and works of seventeenth and eighteenth century mathematicians (and some other scientists), adapted from A Short Account of the History of Mathematics by W. W. Rouse Ball (4th Edition, 1908).

The ordering of the mathematicians and scientists below is approximately chronological. A separate index is provided which lists these people in alphabetical order.

Annotation:

This site is an online adaptation of the fourth edition of W. W. Rouse Ball's A Short Account of the History of Mathematics, published in 1908.
The site lists chronologically or alphabetically more than 80 mathematicians from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. These entries include some biographical information as well as descriptions of important contributions to the science. Many of the entries are quite long and filled with discussions of mathematical operations and theories, so the site may not be as useful to someone who is not well-versed in this field. However, the site is a great resource for tying together contemporaries, and for finding links between the lives and work of various mathematicians. Since the source of the information is old (1908), the text itself could be viewed as a primary source as well, showing the early twentieth-century attitude toward math and science. The site is entirely text except for a limited number of images that are entirely formulas and proofs.

History of Computing

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.computer.org/history/

Author:

IEEE Computer Center

Excerpt:

Recognizing that modern achievements are no greater than the foundations upon which they were built, the IEEE Computer Society celebrates computing history in a number of ways. Our primary means of showcasing events in computing history is IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. Since 1979, Annals has sought to raise important questions, highlight major events and influences that shaped the industry, and record the ideas and impressions of computer innovators.

Annotation:

In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ENIAC, the Computer Society of the IEEE put together this website. Most prominant here is a thorough chronology of computing technologies. The timeline can be loaded as a long series of web pages or as a downloadable, 68 page PDF document. The site also includes a history of the Computing Society within the IEEE. Members of this society have been key figures in the development of computer technology and software over the past 50 years. "Looking Back," a monthly calendar, features important achievements in the history of computing.

Making the Macintosh: Technology and Culture in Silicon Valley

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://library.stanford.edu/mac/

Author:

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang and Stanford University Library

Excerpt:

"Making the Macintosh" is an online project documenting the history of the Macintosh computer. The Macintosh stands at a cusp in the history of computing and Silicon Valley: it brought together (and sometimes transformed) a number of technical and conceptual threads in computing that developed in the 1960s and 1970s, but it also was responsible for sparking new movements in computing. This project collects and publishes primary material on the Macintosh's development and early reception. It draws on the extensive holdings of the Stanford University Library's Department of Special Collections, the personal papers of engineers and technical writers involved in the Macintosh project, and interviews conducted for the project.

Annotation:

This is a collection of six historical essays on the development of the Apple Macintosh computer designed to place technological development within a cultural context. Each essay, 300 to 500 words, links to primary and secondary source documents and provides a suggested path through the sources. A 500-word historiographic essay explains the rationale for each section. Sources accessed through the site include more than 100 images, 20 technical drawings, 13 interviews, and excerpts from The Book of Macintosh, a collection of essays and specifications written by developers of the Macintosh. The site will be interesting to cultural historians as well as historians of technology.

Time-Warp - Archive of Vintage Technology through the Decades

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.time-warp.org/

Author:

time-warp.com

Excerpt:

The 20th century is marked by dramatic technology innovation. The time-warp project is an attempt to archive the rapid advance in technology through the decades. Initially we are starting from 1900 to the present. So much has happened since the harnessing of electricity

Annotation:

The time-warp project is an attempt to archive the rapid advance in technology through the decades. The project's goal is to help preserve information about technology and make it accessible for future generations. The time-warp archive categories are: Calculating Machines, Radio, Audio Equipment, Recorded Media, TV, Toys, Photography, Bibliotech, Computers, Gadget and Gizmos, Telephones, Clocks. Exhibits of various technologies can be browsed chronologically or through a search, making this a user-friendly site. Exhibits usually include a few images and a very brief description.

Virtual Training Suite: Internet for History and Philosophy of Science

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.vts.rdn.ac.uk/tutorial/hps

Author:

Humbul Humanities Hub

Excerpt:

A free, "teach yourself" tutorial that lets you practise your Internet Information Skills

ClassicComputing.com

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.classiccomputing.com/

Author:

ClassicComputing.com

Excerpt:

What ever happend to the classics? We fix them- old and new!

ENIAC Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/rbm/mauchly/jwmintro.html

Author:

University of Pennsylvania

Excerpt:

The year 1996 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the ENIAC computer, the first large-scale general-purpose electronic computer. Built at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical Engineering, ENIAC is an acronym for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer," but its birth lay in World War II as a classified military project known only as Project PX. The ENIAC is important historically, because it laid the foundations for the modern electronic computing industry. More than any other machine, the ENIAC demonstrated that high-speed digital computing was possible using the then-available vacuum tube technology.

Annotation:

Maintained by the University of Pennsylvania Library, this site examines ENIAC and computing through an account of the life and work of John W. Mauchly, one of ENIAC's two principal inventors. The narrative historical accounts with photo and document images related to Mauchly and ENIAC's development.

Humbul: History & Philosophy of Science

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.humbul.ac.uk/hps/

Author:

Humul Humanities Hub

Excerpt:

The Humbul Humanities Hub's strategy for building collections of Internet resource descriptions contributes to the achievement of our mission which is to provide an online environment in which the UK humanities community can access and use evaluated digital resources for teaching and research purposes.

Annotation:

The Humbul Humanities Hub is a service that collects and evaluates humanities websites in order to assist scholars in using these resources. Its History and Philosophy of Science category includes almost 1000 sites divided into six subgroups: projects/organizations, primary sources, secondary sources, research related, teaching and learning, and bibliographic sources. The sites can also be sorted by period and by target audience. Humbul is also searchable for more specific queries.

Welcome to the HCS Virtual computer history museum

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.cyberstreet.com/hcs/museum/museum.htm

Author:

HCS - Walter Peterson (Technical Director)

Excerpt:

Please note we will be constantly adding new exhibits to the museum. The museum is dedicated mostly to minicomputers and microcomputers.

Annotation:

Older site which contains a chronology of computer history and a virtual tour of microcomputer history with narratives and images.

Short History of Fiber Optics

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:19.

URL:

http://www.sff.net/people/Jeff.Hecht/history.html

Author:

Jeff Hecht (technology writer / author of City of Light)

Excerpt:

Optical communication systems date back two centuries, to the "optical telegraph" that French engineer Claude Chappe invented in the 1790s. His system was a series of semaphores mounted on towers, where human operators relayed messages from one tower to the next. It beat hand-carried messages hands down, but by the mid-19th century was replaced by the electric telegraph, leaving a scattering of "Telegraph Hills" as its most visible legacy.

Annotation:

fiber optics